Man dragged off of an overbooked United Airlines flight in April of 2017. *** Local Caption *** https://twitter.com/JayseDavid/status/851223662976004096

N ot that you’d know it if you’ve been shoehorned onto a jet lately, but airplane passengers actually have legal protections — rights guaranteed by the federal government.

The airline loses your bag, you get reimbursed. They make you wait on the tarmac, they have to provide adequate food and water and access to bathrooms. They bump you, you’re entitled to double the price of your ticket.

Nobody ever thought to guarantee a passenger’s right not to get violently pried from his seat and dragged like a stuck pig through the aisle when he or she refuses to get bumped as a result of the airline overbooking. Maybe next time?